


The Liar

by RoseyR



Category: South Park
Genre: Alcohol, Character Development, Comedy, Crushes, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friendship, High School, Liar Tweek Tweak, Lies, M/M, Misunderstandings, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Social Anxiety, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Trust, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29706897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseyR/pseuds/RoseyR
Summary: How would you feel if a close friend was actually lying to you this entire time? What would happen if someone you knew was living a fake life? How would you react if a person fabricated their personality and life just so they’ll appear to be perfect in the eyes of the people around them?That is how you would describe Tweek Tweak. For you see, Tweek Tweak is nothing but a compulsive liar.However, when it comes to someone like Craig Tucker, he always sees through Tweek's lies, and Tweek is always having a hard time dealing with someone like Craig, even after Tweek confesses his feelings to Craig, only to have him believe he's lying again. Ah, will the two ever be honest with each other?
Relationships: Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak, Red/Kevin Stoley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	The Liar

For as long as Tweek could remember, he was considered the perfect child in town. He was kind, smart, compassionate, loyal, and fun. A perfect child in the eyes of adults, and an admired kid that all his peers loved. Everyone was his friend, everyone adored him, everyone truly believed he was perfect.

However, Tweek Tweak was far from perfect. For you see, like most people, he has a dark secret, a trait that no one knew about.

Now, how would you feel if a close friend was actually lying to you this entire time? What would happen if someone you knew was living a fake life? How would you react if a person fabricated their personality and life just so they’ll appear to be perfect in the eyes of the people around them?

That is how you would describe Tweek Tweak. For you see, Tweek Tweak is nothing but a compulsive liar.

He’s not kind, he’s not compassionate, he’s not loyal, and he’s far from being a fun child. No, the real Tweek Tweak has social anxiety, hates being around people for long hours, would rather stay at home and be in his room alone, has never been to parties, isn’t that smart, and tends to make mistakes.

So how did all of this started? How did Tweek convince a small town of people to believe he was a perfect child and student?

Well, it may have started when he was young, when he witnessed his own parents lying. You see, Tweek’s parents weren’t doing so well with running the family business. Barely anyone wanted to try their custom coffee drinks.

So how did they manage to stay in business and get people to stop by and order their drinks? Well, Tweek’s parents decided to lie to their customers. Nothing malicious or extreme, really. They usually lie by giving their customers compliments. The more they made their customers feel good about themselves, the more that their customers would come back, order their drinks, and hear more compliments. People just love to hear free compliments. Of course, these compliments are complete lies since Tweek’s parents would say what they really think about their customers in the privacy of their homes. They did not care if someone had a new hairstyle, they did not care if someone lost weight. No, your makeup didn’t actually make you look younger. No, that dress doesn’t really match your eyes or whatever.

Another lie tactic that Tweek’s parents would use is lying about the quality and function of their coffee. Almost like salesmen who would lie that their products would make you look young, would help clean up your home, has a lifetime guarantee. That is what Tweek’s parents would do. They would lie that a certain drink for a certain customer would make their lives better, whether that be about health, appearances, longer lives, or even helping you with your future. With the Tweaks' kind appearance, gentle smiles, and a look that makes you want to trust them, they easily convince the entire town that their coffee was the greatest thing in the world, even if the taste wasn’t that wonderful. People still bought it.

Yes, with his parents lying all the time, even lying at home sometimes, it wasn’t a surprise when Tweek started to develop a lying habit himself. It all started when he hated himself enough that all he wanted was to be liked for once, that he wanted kids to want to be his friend, that he wanted to appear cool and confident, that he was smart and kind, that he could do anything. So...when Tweek grew tired of being insecure and anxious, he told a lie, the most convincing lie that any five year old child could muster up.

It worked.

“You really met Tom Hanks?”

“That’s right, I even shook his hand once! He was so cool!” Tweek said.

“Wow...so...does that mean you and Tom Hanks are friends?”

“Oh...well...no. You see...when I went to audition for the role for the kid version of Tom Hanks in his movie,  _ Big _ , Mr. Hanks said he couldn’t be my friend since...that would show...favoritism,” Tweek said.

“Favoritism? What does that mean?”

“Oh, it means that I’m Tom Hanks favorite, and if I was his favorite, then the audition would be unfair,” Tweek said.

“Wow!” Everyone of his classmates exclaimed.

Sure, the lie itself wasn’t particularly great, in fact, if the kids used their brains, they would have realized that Tweek would have been way too young to even audition for the movie, and not only that, but the movie came out years ago, so there was no way Tweek could have auditioned for the movie since he wasn’t even born around the time auditions were happening. Of course, these kids being five and have yet to understand the concept of time, the lie was successful, and since then, Tweek was considered the most interesting and popular kid among his classmates.

That was also the start of Tweek’s lying spree.

He soon got better at lying, he made sure he knew what things to say, even studying a bit just so he was prepared for any surprise questions that people might ask. Tweek made sure he knew just how to get out any situations that might be difficult for him, he made sure to act confident as he talked to people, he became a great liar after years of practice and lying to all of his peers.

Eventually, his lies managed to work on adults, and now all the adults school would think he was a wonderful child with good grades and was well behaved, but in reality, Tweek only managed to keep his grades up to an A is either studying for many hours, getting the answers off his phone or the internet, or simply looking over at an unsuspecting student’s shoulders and copying their answers. Tweek did feel bad for cheating, but he needed to keep up with the lie that he was a smart student. If he slipped up even once, people would start questioning him, and if people start questioning him, then they’ll all realize that he was lying about who he really was.

There has been a time where Tweek did wanted to stop lying when his fake self became someone that was the complete opposite of his true self, and keeping up with all the lies was getting too much for him to handle, but when he saw how people were happy to see him, saw how people relied on him, saw how people were inspired to wanting to be like him, the pressure of it all was too much. He was in too deep, he knew that if he told the truth now, people would hate him, people could never trust him again, people would soon leave him. He didn’t want to be alone, he didn’t want to lose all the friends he made, he didn’t want to lose the reputation he created, even if he only got them through his lies.

No. In truth, Tweek was scared. He was a coward. That was why he couldn’t stop lying, why he kept going, why he kept up with the lies, even if they stressed him out sometimes. Even when he felt guilty or pressured, he managed to convince himself to keep going, that it wasn’t all bad. After all, there have been jobs that lie all the time, like being an actor, or a lawyer. Hell, even a few of the presidents of the United States have lied before, so maybe lying isn’t as bad as it seems. As long as he wasn’t spreading malicious rumors or lying about a person, place, or event, then Tweek was fine just lying about himself doing all these amazing things, and if you think about it, if he actually did some of the things he lied about, then they’ll become the truth. He was still studying for his quizzes and exams, so eventually, he’ll be able to get a good grade without cheating for whenever he has one or two questions he didn’t understand. If Tweek worked hard enough, then maybe he can become the fake persona he created for himself, that way, it won’t be a lie anymore. It’ll all be true eventually, right?

So, with that in his head and the pressure of it all, Tweek continued to lie throughout his childhood, and up to his days as a junior in high school. As long as no one found out, and people were happy in their ignorant bliss, then it doesn’t matter that Tweek lied, right? Everyone lies, and Tweek happens to be one of them, there’s no harm in anything he’s doing.

Right?

* * *

“Tweek! Breakfast is ready!”

“Coming!” Tweek exclaimed from his room. He sighed as he checked himself in the mirror before his eyes gazed at his messy hair, he sighed once more as he angrily stared at his hair through his reflection, wishing he could make it neat looking for once, but no matter how many times he brushed it or put hair products into it, it always comes out as a mess. “...Oh well...at least people think it adds charm,” Tweek sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair when suddenly his hand got stuck and he had to pull his hand out as hard as he could. “Ow…” Tweek groaned as he rubbed his head in pain.

Once Tweek was ready, he quickly headed downstairs to join his family for breakfast. Once he sat down at the table, he looked up at his mother who was bringing his plate to him.

“Good morning, dear,” Tweek’s mother said with a smile.

“Morning,” Tweek said, “what’s for breakfast, mom?” Tweek asked.

“Well we have some toast, butter, jam, coffee, and my special omelettes,” Tweek’s mother said as she placed down Tweek’s plate in front of him.

“Oh, great. Looks good,” Tweek said with a smile, though inside, he was a bit worried.

It was a known fact in the Tweak household that Mrs. Tweak wasn’t the best cook, not saying she was the worst, but even on her good days her food wasn’t as great as it appears to be. Even now, the omelette may look decent, it was the flavor that Tweek was most worried about.

Grabbing a fork, he stabbed into his omelette and took a bite, immediately, he wanted to throw it back out when he realized how much salt was in it, he nearly gagged, but quickly grabbed his glass of water and took a large gulp of his drink. Tweek then cleared his throat as he managed to swallow the salty omelette combined with water, and act as if he was okay.

“Mmm, dear...these omelettes are sure great,” Mr. Tweak said.

Mrs. Tweak smiled, “I’m so glad you two enjoyed it, it took me awhile to make these,” Mrs. Tweak said, “for something simply made of eggs, it’s surprisingly difficult to make,” Mrs. Tweak giggled.

“Well, you’ve done an excellent job, dear. I can’t get enough of your omelettes, mmm,” Mr. Tweak said. However, Tweek could clearly see that his dad was simply moving the food around on his plate and making it look like he took a bite of his food.

“Aw, dear, you’re so sweet. Do you think the food is good too, Tweek?” Mrs. Tweak asked.

“Sure, mom,” Tweek said as he forced himself to take another bite, making sure to have a drink ready for when his mouth is exposed to the salty concoction. “Real...great,” Tweek said, holding down a cough.

Mrs. Tweak smiled and happily ate her food. Both the Tweak men do wonder how Mrs. Tweak managed to eat her food without gagging. They weren’t sure if she simply lost her sense of taste, or if she was pretending.

Mr. Tweak then grabbed his coffee and took a sip, he froze for a bit and stared at his mug for a bit. “Hm…”

“Is something wrong with your coffee, dear?” Mrs. Tweak asked.

“No, it’s delicious...but...it tastes...different than usual,” Mr. Tweak said.

“Oh...I must have accidentally added more sugar and cream than usual in yours,” Mrs. Tweak said.

“Oh, that must be it then,” Mr. Tweak said as he kept sipping his drink.

“....” Tweek knew this was a lie since he remembered seeing a freshly opened bag of coffee beans that came from the store and weren’t his father’s coffee beans. It seemed his mother was hiding the fact that she was drinking the competitors coffee since the bag Tweek found was shoved way deep into one of the kitchen cabinets, particularly the one that his father rarely opens.

Yes, years of lying to people, it seems that even the Tweaks would lie to each other. Though Tweek does act like himself when he’s at home, even he has lied to his parents every now and then, only to keep the peace, it’s the same for his parents. So, even if Tweek’s parents were lying to each other, as long as the other was happy, who was Tweek to say anything about it? Everyone was happy, and that’s what matters.

“So Tweek, heard the club fair is next week, you planning on joining any clubs, son?” Mr. Tweak asked.

“Um...I don’t know...I’m already busy as is,” Tweek said.

“Well what are you busy with? You’re always spending time in your room when you’re home,” Mrs. Tweak pointed out.

“Oh you know...studying and stuff,” Tweek said. It wasn’t really a lie, Tweek has been studying for school, as well as researching topics and whatever else to help him with his lie, as well as coming up with new lies for himself.

“I see, but you know you shouldn't study too much, dear. You should have fun as well,” Mrs. Tweak said.

“I am, I’m having lots of fun at school and with all my friends,” Tweek said.

“Right, since you’re Mr. Popular, right?” Mr. Tweak chuckled.

“...Yep, Mr. Popular,” Tweek said. Quickly, Tweek checked the time on his phone, “oh, I better get going. Wouldn’t want to be late for school,” Tweek said.

“But you haven’t finished your breakfast,” Mrs. Tweak pointed out the large chunks on his plate.

“Ah, well...I really can’t be late, mom. Why don’t you save that for me and I’ll eat the rest when I come home later. Anyways, really gotta go, bye!” Tweek said, he then grabbed his bag and left. “Ugh...I thought my tongue was going to fall off soon from all that salt. Just how much salt did she add?” Tweek muttered once he was outside of his house. With a sigh, Tweek started heading to school.

During the walk to school, a few people stopped and would greet Tweek with a smile. Tweek, of course, would smile back and greet them as well, keeping up his good boy act.

“Good morning, Tweek.”

“Good morning, Mr. Hendrix.”

“Going to school, Tweek?”

“Of course, gotta keep my grades up, Mr. Horris.”

“Hope you’re studying hard, even if today is a Friday, Tweek.”

“Ha ha, of course, Mr. Dale.”

No matter who Tweek walked by, they always treated Tweek with warm smiles, and Tweek would give them the same, though his greeting was more forced since on the inside, he was feeling a bit anxious, and everytime someone talked to him, he would force himself to be brave, give his greeting, and starting walking faster so he’d reach school quickly and away from people.

Finally, Tweek made it to school after being stopped seven times by adults who were happy to see him. Once Tweek was alone and no one could see him, he let out a sigh and tried his best to control his breathing. His anxiety almost got the best of him, but he was happy he managed to keep it in without breaking his act.

“Okay...you did well...just gotta...be very careful during school,” Tweek said, hyping himself up as best as he could. “You can do this, it’s a Friday, so just gotta handle today, and you’re free for the rest of the weekend,” Tweek muttered to himself. With that, Tweek took a deep breath, and began heading to the building.

Once inside, he started walking down the hallway, heading towards his locker, he greeted a few students that were around, but kept his greeting to a minimum. Once he reached his locker, he opened the door and began to grab his books he needed for his classes.

Suddenly, Tweek felt an arm swing around his shoulders, and someone exclaiming happily. “Morning Tweek!”

Tweek flinched, but kept his composure and turned around with a smile, “good morning, Clyde. Energetic as ever?” Tweek said.

“Well yeah since it’s Friday! That means we get to have the time of our lives the moment the last bell rings today,” Clyde said.

“Ha ha, I see,” Tweek smiled.

“Clyde, aren’t you being overly excited here, buddy? School is about to start and lasts for eight hours, so you might not want to celebrate too early here,” Token, Clyde’s and Tweek’s friend, came over just as Clyde rushed over to greet Tweek.

“Good morning, Token,” Tweek greeted.

“Morning, Tweek. Clyde isn’t bothering you again, is he?” Token asked.

“I wasn’t bothering Tweek, Tweek and I are buds, right?”

Before Tweek could reply, Jimmy, another one of Tweek’s closest friend, came over, “M-morning fellas,” Jimmy said, he then looked over at Clyde, “C-Clyde, are you b-b-booo...are you b-both….are you bugging Tweek again?” Jimmy asked.

“Why are you guys saying I’m bugging him!?” Clyde pouted.

“Because you tend to bug people, a lot,” Token smiled.

“H-hey!” Clyde pouted harder.

All of them, except for Clyde, began to laugh. Tweek smiled at the three. Out of everyone in school and even in town, he liked Clyde, Token, and Jimmy. He considered them his closest friends.

Even though he was lying to them as well.

Still, Tweek never felt very stressed when he’s around, and he rarely lied to them. So far, the three were the closest people where he could act himself, although not very much.

As the four were talking, Clyde suddenly looked up and had a huge smile on his face. He raised his arm and waved it around, exclaiming, “morning, Craig!”

Tweek froze. He turned his head to see a familiar figure walking by. Craig Tucker.

Craig stopped, looked up, took out one of the earbuds from his ears, it seemed like he was listening to music while walking, and stood there for a few seconds before raising his hand a tiny bit and waved back, “...hey.”

Clyde chuckled, “anti-social as ever, huh Craig?”

Craig stared at him before shrugging his shoulders. It looked like he was about to keep walking and past the group, to which Tweek hope that Clyde doesn’t try to bring him into their conversation, but it seemed Clyde really wanted Craig to join in on their fun that he rushed over, grabbed Craig’s arm, and pulled him along.

“Come on, man. We’re your friends you know, you can socialize with us,” Clyde said.

Craig sighed, “fine, just please stop pulling my arm, you’re gonna pull it off.”

Once Craig was with the group, Tweek went completely still as Craig was now standing next to him. Tweek gulped and looked at Craig, hoping he doesn’t start something.

“Hey, Tweek...you okay? You look...nervous,” Token noticed.

Tweek flinched and quickly put on a smile, “of course not, why would I be nervous?” Tweek laughed it off.

Craig stared at him in silence, “....”

Tweek flinched and looked away, he could feel himself sweating nervously.

There is a reason as to why Tweek is cautious around Craig, and well, it all started when Tweek first met Craig. It was around the time that Tweek was still a freshman, and people were talking about a new family that moved to town. It was said that the family came all the way from Denver, yet it seemed that one of the family members was actually born in South Park since he had family here. Whatever the case, all Tweek knew that the family consisted of two parents, a daughter who was probably around middle school age, and a son who was around his age, and that son was the new student in their school.

“Class, I’d like you all to meet our newest student who will be joining us for the rest of the year, Craig Tucker.

The moment Craig stepped into the classroom, Tweek’s heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t sure what it was about him, maybe it’s because of how silky his black hair was, maybe it was his dark blue eyes, or maybe it’s just the overall handsomeness of the boy, whatever it was, most of the girls in his class were giggling to themselves and were already interested in the new kid.

“So Craig, wanna talk about yourself a bit?”

“...”

“Craig?”

“Not really,” Craig said.

“Oh, shy are we?” The teacher asked.

“....” Craig shrugged. It didn’t seem like he was shy, more like he didn’t really want to say anything, and the fact that he just had this bored expression on his face just proved that he was far from being shy.

Tweek liked that, he liked that a lot, and judging from how some of the girls were squealing a bit, they also liked it too.

“Well, since this is your first day, you are a bit behind on what we’re learning here, but don’t worry, I’ll be sure to help you catch up, and if you still have trouble, we actually have Tweek there who can easily help you,” the teacher said. “Tweek, mind raising your hand?”

Tweek immediately raised his hand, and when Criag looked over at him, their eyes met. Immediately, Tweek felt his cheeks getting red, and his heart racing. Tweek immediately knew he was interested in the new kid.

“If you ever feel confused about anything, you can ask Tweek there, he’s the school’s number one student after all,” the teacher said.

“Um...alright,” Craig said.

“Great, now that things are settled, you can sit in that empty seat next to Tweek over there.”

Tweek was excited. He was glad that there was an empty seat next to him, he was actually thankful that there were a few students who had tried to copy off his homework or quiz earlier that year before the teacher ended up having to get a new seat for the classroom and just not have anyone sit next to him for the rest of the year. Though, he does hope the teacher will let the new kid sit next to him for the remainder of the year, or at least he hopes the new kid isn’t going to be a cheater like the previous classmate who originally sat next to him in that chair.

Once Craig sat down, Tweek looked at him, and mustered up the courage to speak to him, “h-hi, I’m Tweek.”

Craig looked at him before nodding his head, “hi. I’m Craig, but...guess you knew that already,” Craig said.

Tweek smiled, chuckling to himself a bit, “y-yeah, ha ha.” Now that Tweek got a closer look at the new kid, he saw that he really was good looking, and Tweek could feel his heart beating like crazy. “So um...as the teacher said earlier...if you ever need any help with school or anything, don’t hesitate to ask me,” Tweek said.

“Sure, thanks,” Craig said.

“N-no problem!” Tweek said, his voice nearly cracked because he was nervous, but quickly recovered and turned away, trying to act smooth. For a second there, Tweek nearly revealed his real self in front of the new kid, he was that nervous.

“...” Unbeknown to Tweek, Craig did notice how nervous Tweek was, and how much Tweek was sweating a bit. Craig quietly chuckled to himself and turned his attention to the front. He had a small smile on his face, though barely anyone noticed, not even Tweek.

Since then, Tweek had tried his best to get close to Craig, wanting to be his friend. At first, Craig wasn’t very responsive to his efforts, and it only took Tweek a day to realize that Craig wasn’t shy or anything, but was very anti-social. He realized this when he saw how much he refused to go to any social event with anyone, but that only gave Tweek an advantage since after a while, Craig had finally warmed up to Tweek, and didn’t mind him one bit, which meant that Tweek was finally getting closer to Craig.

However, it all soon changed on the fifth day of Craig being there.

“Hey Craig, how are you?”

“Okay,” Craig said as he was looking at a piece of paper. Curious, Tweek looked over and saw it was the school’s map.

“You still haven’t figure out how to navigate the school?” Tweek asked.

“It’s pretty difficult since this map is so hard to read,” Craig sighed, “ugh...I’m constantly coming in late to my classes this week, and I’m having a hard time memorizing since I’m always looking at the map to help me find where I need to go,” Craig sighed.

“Well...why don’t I show you around? I’ll be your guide,” Tweek said.

“Really? You’ll do that?” Craig asked.

“Sure,” Tweek said, “after all, I am sort of the school’s unofficial representative,” Tweek joked.

Craig smiled, “thanks.”

Tweek’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Craig’s smile and his cheeks turning red. He quickly looked away since he didn’t want Craig to see how flustered he was. “S-so um...how about I show you around during the first break? I’m sure it’ll be enough time to at least show you where your classes are,” Tweek said.

“That’ll be great,” Craig said.

Tweek smiled and was about to say something else to Craig, but suddenly, two students came over, obviously looking for Tweek. “Tweek! We need your help man!”

“Oh, um...of course, how can I help?” Tweek asked.

“Well we have this quiz for our astronomy science class, and we kinda forgot how many planets are gas planets.”

“Couldn’t you just look it up?” Tweek asked.

“We would have, but my phone isn’t working for some reason, and his phone doesn’t have any signal, and class is about to start soon, so we’re in a rush.”

“Oh, well uh...that’s easy,” Tweek said, “there are exactly three gas planets in the solar system,” Tweek said.

“....That’s...not right,” Craig said.

“Huh?” Tweek turned to look at Craig, surprised he spoke up. “W-what do you mean?” Tweek asked.

“There are not three gas planets, there are four. Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus,” Craig said.

“O-oh! M-my mistake, I guess I forgot a planet,” Tweek said.

“But you said you know everything about planets, Tweek.”

“I-I do! I am after all an expert in astronomy after all,” Tweek said confidently, but in truth, since Tweek never took astronomy classes, he never really bothered with learning anything about astronomy, so he was surprised when these two students were asking him about astronomy since he never really mentioned he was good in astronomy, but he guessed they assumed he does since he was supposed to know everything since he’s the smart kid in school.

“Oh, then do you know if Mars is the fifth planet from the sun, or the sixth?”

“Easy, fifth,” Tweek said.

“That’s not right either,” Craig said, “Mars is neither the fifth or sixth. It’s the fourth, with Earth being the third away, Venus being the second, and Mercury being the first,” Craig said.

“And how would you know that?” One of the students asked.

“Y-yeah...how do you know?” Tweek asked curiously.

“I took astronomy in my old school, and I’m into astronomy, so this stuff is pretty easy to know, even a toddler would know this,” Craig said, “I get that you two might not know since you probably learned about it years ago and had forgotten it, but what about you, Tweek? You said you’re an expert, yet you got two of the easiest questions wrong,” Craig said.

“Oh...well...I...I…” Tweek quickly thought of a way to get around this, “I was just tired, that’s all!”

“Tired?”

“Yeah, I mean...my brain can’t function when it’s this early in the morning, and I haven’t had my coffee yet, so I’m extra tired and I guess I got my information wrong. I’ll probably be back to my smart self after a while,” Tweek said.

“I see, that’s got to be it. Of course someone as smart as you would make mistakes if you were tired!”

“I feel bad for almost doubting you there, Tweek.”

“Ha ha, no worries. We all make mistakes,” Tweek smiled.

“Yeah. Well thanks again for the help.”

“No problem, anytime!” Tweek smiled.

With that, the two students left. Once they were gone, Craig stared at Tweek, now a bit suspicious.

“So...you got those answers wrong because you were tired?” Craig asked.

“Of course! Anyone can make mistakes if they’re tired,” Tweek said.

“But...you don’t look tired,” Craig said.

“Does anyone actually look tired? Just because I look normal now doesn’t mean I’m not tired. In fact…” Tweek let out a fake yawn, “I’m really sleepy right now...better go get some coffee from the vending machines and perk myself up a bit,” Tweek said.

“...Before you go...mind answering this one question about astronomy? It’s not that hard,” Craig said.

“Um...sure!” Tweek smiled.

“Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet?” Craig asked.

“Because it’s a midget planet, that’s why.”

“Midget? You mean dwarf planet, right?”

“Midget...dwarf...same thing,” Tweek said, “it’s not a planet because it’s just super small compared to the other planets.”

“...Is that the only reason why it’s not a planet?” Craig asked.

“Um...yeah...definitely. Pluto is not a planet because it’s just really really small,” Tweek smiled, “now...better go get that coffee and get some energy! Wouldn’t want to be too tired for the rest of the day,” Tweek said as he quickly left, thinking he managed to get out of another situation.

However, as Tweek left, Craig was watching him, feeling very suspicious of the blonde boy.

After that, Tweek thought nothing of it. He was sure he managed to get away with his mistake, and people still think of him as that smart kid that everyone adores. So he went on with his day acting normal, continued to help anyone in need, chatting with people over little things, and secretly trying to impress Craig by speaking a little loudly whenever he was talking to someone and Craig was in the same room as him.

Finally, it was the first break and Tweek walked over to Craig’s desk. “Hey, ready for a tour of the school?” Tweek smiled.

“....No thanks,” Craig said quietly as he started putting away his stuff into his backpack.

Tweek’s smile dropped, “h-how come? We agreed that I’d show you around the school, at least, where your classes are,” Tweek said.

“....”

“...Craig?” Tweek was confused as to why Craig was being more quiet than usual, especially towards him.

“Hey Craig, I’m ready to show you around the school,” one of the students that was still in the classroom exclaimed.

“Alright, be with you soon,” Craig said.

Tweek froze, “w-why did you...ask someone else to show you around the school?” Tweek asked, “you said I could.”

“....”

“Craig?”

“....” Craig let out a tired sigh before he looked up at Tweek. However, instead of looking at him with the blank expression like normal, he had a scowl on his face. “I decided to not let you show me around the school because...I don’t want to hang around with a big fat liar like you,” Craig said.

Tweek froze, “w-what?”

“Craig, you coming?”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Craig sighed. He looked at Tweek, “just don’t talk to me anymore,” Craig said. Craig then left.

Tweek stood there, unable to move since he was too shocked at what just happened. “Did...did he…”

Did someone finally see through his lie?

After the break was over, and everyone was getting ready to head to their next class, Tweek quickly searched for Craig. He needed to confirm what Craig said. There was no way Craig saw through his lies, right?

When Tweek finally found Craig at his locker, Tweek rushed over, “C-Craig!” Craig paused and turned to look, Tweek flinched when he saw the angry scowl on Craig’s face, but he stayed calm and went over. “W-we need to talk.”

“I prefer to not talk to a compulsive liar like you,” Craig said.

Tweek flinched and looked down, even though he hasn’t faced anyone who has called him out for his lies, that didn’t mean Tweek didn’t have a backup plan on how to handle people who do see through his lies. “Okay, I lied about knowing astronomy, and I’m sorry. I just...I just wanted to impress you by showing you how smart I was, but I guess I’m not as smart as I thought I was since I wasn’t able to answer a few simple astronomy questions. I’m sorry for lying, and I hope we can get past this,” Tweek said, putting on a smile.

“....Wow...how fucking shallow are you?” Craig said, his eyes growing dark.

“W-what?”

“You think you can get away with lying by lying even more?” Craig said.

“H-how did you…”

“It’s obvious,” Craig said, “it may not be obvious to everyone else since it seems you’ve lied to everyone in this town for a long time, but me...I can tell,” Craig said.

“....How did you know that...I’ve been lying for a long time?” Tweek asked, he felt his stomach twisting into a knot.

“Well...when I realized you lied about knowing anything about astronomy, I became suspicious and paid closer attention to what you said to people. I soon realized that whenever you talked to someone, whether it be about you knowing a subject or you did something, it all sounded way too overly exaggerated that I came to a realization that it was all a lie. I even asked around during the classes we didn’t have together, and judging from what people said about you, I could tell that you’ve been lying for a long time, and just how far your lies went. From you meeting a celebrity once, you being smart, to you doing something amazing. Everything you said...are all lies,” Craig said.

“....”

“You’re not even going to deny it, are you?” Craig asked as he crossed his arms.

“....You’re…wr…” Tweek wanted to say he was wrong, but judging from Craig’s cold stare, even if he said anything to defend himself, Craig would see right through him.

“You can’t lie to me, Tweek. Unlike the people here...I’m good at detecting liars like you,” Craig said, “I’m just surprised I haven’t even caught on until the whole astronomy questioning,” Craig sighed, “I guess you’re very careful when you lie to people, am I right?”

“....” Tweek looked down, he could feel his body trembling as he wasn’t sure what to do. He realized that if Craig found out the truth, then what’s stopping him from telling everyone? It won’t be long now before his reputation is ruined and his life he worked so hard to create is ripped away from him just like that. Everyone will come to hate him, everyone will never trust him or even talk to him. He will be an outcast. He’ll be completely alone. “Are you...going to tell people?”

“....No,” Craig said.

Tweek’s eyes widened and he looked at Craig, “W-what?”

Craig sighed, “don’t get me wrong. I’m the type who usually calls out liars and their bullshit, but with your case...I can’t even do that without worrying about the repercussion and everything ending badly for me,” Craig said. “Considering the fact that you’ve lied to everyone for so long, even if I did try to tell anyone, they’ll most likely not believe me and be on your side, which means...if I don’t want to risk getting getting harassed by everyone, it’s better I keep my mouth shut for now.”

Tweek sighed in relief, but he knew that things weren’t okay. “Craig...I-”

“Don’t. Just because I’m letting this go doesn’t mean I want to associate with you. I hate liars like you, and if there’s ever a chance where I can expose you...I’d take it,” Craig said.

“....”

“So if you don’t want to piss me off and risk me telling someone your little secret...I recommend you leave me the fuck along and just fuck off,” Craig said. With that, Craig slammed his locker door shut and walked off to his next class, leaving Tweek alone.

Tweek stood there, not sure whether to feel relieved or feel immense danger as he now knew that there was someone that could see through his lies and had the potential of exposing him if and whenever he wanted to. Tweek could feel his anxiety spiking and it was getting harder to breathe as his heart pounded in his chest.

Craig Tucker was dangerous and was not to be trusted.

Since then, Tweek and Craig have become somewhat enemies. With Tweek continuing to lie to people, and Craig having a knack at spotting liars, the two didn’t get along, and Tweek would always get nervous and stressed whenever Craig was nearby. Originally, Tweek did plan on just avoiding Craig ever since that encounter, but because of Clyde, who somehow became close with Craig later on that same year, avoiding Craig has proven to be impossible unless Craig is being extra anti-social, or if Tweek just doesn’t feel like hanging out with his friends on a certain day. Tweek always felt like he was walking on eggshells whenever Craig was around, and there was no escape from this torment.

“So guys, with the club fair starting next Monday, are any of you planning on joining any clubs?” Clyde asked.

“W-w-well I’ll be c-c-continuing the n-n-newspaper club, t-though I t-t-think I want to c-c-check out the c-c-comedy club and s-s-see how ffffffunny everyone,” Jimmy said.

“Well I’m thinking of joining the basketball team. Tryouts are happening in the same week, so I wanna see if my basketball skills have improved enough for me to join the team this year,” Token said, “what about you, Clyde?”

“I’m thinking of joining the cooking club. Imagine all the yummy food that will be there,” Clyde said.

“I thought you wanted to join the football team this year?” Token said.

“I can always join next year or something, besides...it’s free food, how can I miss that opportunity?” Clyde said.

“You do realize you have to make that food yourself, right? It’s not just about eating,” Token said.

“I know, and once I get good at cooking, not only will I be able to eat all that delicious food, but the ladies are going to dig a guy that can cook,” Clyde smirked.

“K-keep d-dreaming,” Jimmy chuckled.

“What about you, Tweek? Are you joining any clubs this year?”

“O-oh, me? Well...I’m not sure, I’m pretty busy after school, and I’d rather go home after school,” Tweek said.

“Yeah right,” Craig muttered under his breath, but Tweek heard him.

“Aw, come on, Tweek. There must be something you’re interested in, I mean, you’re already very talented and stuff, there must be a club that you might enjoy being a part of,” Clyde said.

“Maybe he should join the drama club, I’m sure he’ll be great in that,” Craig said sarcastically. Tweek glared at him, but Craig didn't even look at him as he kept looking forward.

“Why drama club?” Token asked.

“Oh you know...it’s because the drama club has a lot of actors...and I’m sure Tweek would be a wonderful actor,” Craig said.

Tweek was this close into punching Craig in the face, and he didn’t care if his friends were there, and people were watching.

“I didn’t know you were great at acting, Tweek,” Clyde said.

“Oh..I’m...not,” Tweek quickly said.

“But Craig said you were,” Clyde said, confused.

“He’s just kidding,” Tweek said, “I mean….I did act once in my life, but that was a long time ago and acting really isn’t my thing,” Tweek said.

“Oh please,” Craig said loudly. When everyone had their eyes on him, he continued, “I saw your acting, and I say you’d make a decent actor,” Craig said with a condescending smile.

Tweek could feel his right eye twitching, “well thank you, Craig. It’s so sweet of you to compliment my acting, but as I said before, it’s not my thing, so let’s just drop it. Please,” Tweek said sternly.

“Um..okay?” Clyde said, “well uh...what about you, Craig? Are you still continuing that astronomy club you joined last year?” Clyde asked.

“Of course, though this year we’re probably going to try really hard in recruiting new members since our fourth member graduated last year, and now we’re down to three people, and since the rules for having a club is that you need at least four members to actually do any club activities, we really need to get a new member during the club fair, or else we’re at risk of being shut down,” Craig sighed.

“Well that sucks, dude,” Clyde said.

“Yeah...but you gotta admit, not a lot of kids here are really into astronomy, so finding a new member might be a little hard,” Token said.

Craig sighed, “well that’ll suck, and it’ll suck even more for Kevin and Red since they’re the ones that started the club, and it’ll crush them if it ends up being shut down this year,” Craig said.

“Well don’t give up hope, Craig, I’m sure you’ll get someone to join next week,” Clyde smiled, “right Tweek?”

Tweek looked at Craig before putting on a fake smile, “oh yeah, definitely. With how interesting astronomy club is, I’m sure you’ll get that fourth member soon,” Tweek said.

“...Gee...thanks,” Craig said through gritted teeth.

Though it didn’t seem like it on the outside, the two were glaring daggers at each other while remaining calm as to not cause any suspicion to the others.

“You know...since Tweek hasn’t decided on a club yet...maybe Tweek should join the astronomy club! That way the club will be saved, and you two can hang out and become closer,” Clyde said.

“No!” Both Craig and Tweek exclaimed.

“I-I mean...I would love to, but I’m not sure astronomy is really my thing, and besides, since a lot of astronomy club activities happen during the evening, I’m not sure I have the time to commit to any of that since I’m so busy and stuff,” Tweek said.

“...And I just don’t want him to join,” Craig said. Tweek glared at him.

“Huh? Why not, Craig?”

Craig glared at Tweek, “just because,” Craig said. Suddenly, the warning bell rang, and class was going to start soon. “Ah...time to get going. I’ll talk to you three later,” Craig said. He put his earbuds back into his ears and began heading to class.

“Man, Craig is still anti-social as ever, huh?” Clyde pouted.

“Yeah,” Token said, but he then turned to Tweek, “but is it me or does it seem like he has a grudge against you, Tweek?”

Tweek flinched, “oh you’re imagining things. Craig doesn’t have a grudge against me,” Tweek said.

“Y-you sure? W-w-whenever he hangs out w-w-with us, he r-r-r-rarely talks to you,” Jimmy pointed out.

“Yeah, and he’s always staring at you as if he was angry,” Clyde said.

“Oh...that? You know Craig, he’s just being anti-social, remember? I’m sure it looks like Craig is pissed with me, but he’s not! He holds no grudges against me since there’s no reason for him to hold any grudges! It’s just Craig being Craig, you know?”

“I guess you’re right,” Token said, “but that doesn’t explain why you don’t bother talking to him more often yourself.”

“....Oh, l-look at the time, we better get to class before we’re late!” Tweek quickly said, “I’ll see you guys later! Bye!” Tweek exclaimed as he started rushing off to class.

“Oh um...see you, Tweek!” Clyde exclaimed. “....That was weird.”

“A little...but Tweek might be right, maybe it’s nothing,” Token said.

“Of course it’s nothing. I mean...is there a reason for Craig to hate Tweek?” Clyde said.

“Y-yeah, Tweek is the m-most nicest and honest guy in t-t-this entire town,” Jimmy said, “there’s no way Craig could hate him.”

“Mmm...true,” Token said, “now...we better get to class or else we’re late.”

“Yeah…”

All three of them then left, not thinking much about the strange relationship between Craig and Tweek. Although, they were completely unaware about the true nature behind their behavior towards each other, especially the truth about Tweek.

* * *

School was finally over for the day, and Tweek, along with his friends, had decided to hang out after school now that the weekend was coming up. As they were walking, Clyde noticed Craig coming out of the building, and Tweek prayed that Clyde doesn’t call him over and have him hang out with them.

“Hey Craig! Wanna hang out!?” Clyde exclaimed.

Craig paused, stared at them for a second, shrugged, and walked over, “sure, I got nothing to do today,” Craig said.

Tweek sighed, wondering if Craig accepted on purpose just to annoy him, or if he was just proving a point that even if Tweek was there, he could still pretend he wasn’t there, making things even more awkward for Tweek since he knew that he had to force himself to interact with Craig as to not cause any suspicion with their friends.

As the group was walking, wondering where they should go to eat, Clyde suddenly changed the topic when he was checking his phone and found something. “Oh man, Dennis Farlow is hosting a party at his house right now!”

“So?” Token said.

“So? So! So how come we weren’t invited!”

“Maybe because we’re not that close to Dennis?” Token said.

“I-I-I don’t even share a c-c-class with him,” Jimmy said.

“...Dennis who?” Craig said.

“Okay...I see your point...but it still sucks we didn’t get invited. It would be so cool to go to a party right now,” Clyde said.

“Why? It’s not a holiday, there’s nothing to celebrate about, and most parties are kinda lame since all there is is just dancing, food, loud music, and chatting with people while being awkwardly close. It’s not really fun, especially at our age,” Token said.

“I guess you’re right...unless it’s one of those cool drinking parties where kids get beer and start drinking while being underage,” Clyde said.

“Sounds dangerous,” Craig said, “and stupid.”

“Yeah, but it’s way more fun and exciting than a boring party with normal drinks and lame party games,” Clyde said, “...by the way, Tweek. Have you ever attended any wild parties before?”

“Now why would Tweek ever go to a wild party?” Token asked.

“Well Tweek is pretty cool, and knows a bunch of people, so I assume he must have been invited to a few drinking parties or something,” Clyde said.

“T-that makes sense,” Jimmy said.

“Does it?” Token asked.

“Well how about it? Ever drank alcohol at a wild party before?”

Tweek froze and wasn’t sure if he should be truthful here or not, especially with Craig around, but seeing the excited looks on their faces, he knew that if he told them the truth, they might get disappointed, and Tweek didn’t want to disappoint his friends. So Tweek came up with a lie.

“Of course I’ve been to a wild party with lots of alcohol,” Tweek said.

“Really!?” All three of them exclaimed, while Craig glared at him from the side.

Tweek ignored Craig and kept going, “uh huh, though...I never actually drank any alcohol since I was too scared of what it might do to me, and I also didn’t want to break any laws, but I’ve been to a wild party before, and let me tell you, it’s a lot more fun than any normal party we’ve all been to before,” Tweek smiled with confidence.

“Cool,” Clyde said, “I wish we could go to a party like that.”

“I-I bet it would b-b-be lots of fun, e-e-especially if we get to see s-s-some girl t-t-titties,” Jimmy said.

“It would be cool to see how a much more mature party...even if it’s a lot crazier,” Token said.

“Yeah, but too bad there aren’t any wild parties happening right now, otherwise, it would be so cool to get invited and participate,” Tweek said, hoping that with this final saying, they can just move on and change the topic.

“Well if you’re all searching for a crazy party, we know a place you guys can join,” someone behind them said.

When Tweek turned around, he went pale as he saw a couple college students were standing behind them, meaning they just heard their conversation about wanting to go to a wild party. Things weren’t looking good for Tweek.

“Woah, really? Where?”

“Near the campsite in the forest, there’s tons of beer, music, weed, and food. It’s pretty awesome. If you kids wanna party, you can come with us and have the time of your lives.”

“Really?” Clyde asked.

“Wait...is this even okay? I mean...you do realize we’re underage and stuff, right?” Token said.

“Relax, we’re eighteen, practically legal adults now, and as long as the cops don’t know about it, it’ll be fine. Consider us adults giving you kids permission to come drink and party!”

“But...the legal drinking age is twenty-one,” Token said.

“Who cares!? You guys wanna party or what?”

“....Well...Tweek did say it was fun, and we all wanted to check out a real wild party,” Clyde said.

“Y-yeah, and w-w-with Tweek around, giving us tips and telling u-us what to d-d-do, I’m sure it’ll b-b-be fine,” Jimmy said.

“W-wait what?” Tweek stared at them in shock, “you guys actually want to go!?”

“Sure, why not? You’ve been to a wild party before, right?”

“I mean...yeah, but...but-”

“Don’t worry, Tweek, we’ll be careful, and if we have a question, we’ll come ask you for help since you’re already an expert at this type of stuff, right?”

“....Yes?”

“Great! Then let’s go!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Awesome. You guys are going to have the time of your lives!” The entire group cheered and the college students began guiding Tweek and his friends to where the party was. While Clyde, Token, and Jimmy were excited, both Craig and Tweek began to worry, Tweek especially as he realized that his little lie ended up backfiring on him.

With that, Tweek and his group ended up following the college students to the woods. Once there, they were all surprised by how normal looking the party was, though there were a few people that were half naked, someone was passed out, people were smoking something, a few were dancing to the music, and everyone just seemed intoxicated.

“So this is a wild party?” Clyde asked.

“More or less. Don’t worry though, we’ll get our second wind after the next song. Everyone is just resting up after the first wind.”

“There’s...multiple winds?” Token asked.

“Pretty much, my man!”

“Oh who cares how many winds there are! I’m gonna party till I crash!” Clyde grinned, “now where’s the snack table!?”

“That’s the spirit, dude!” The college students then showed Clyde where to go, though some of them pretty much went their own separate way so they could enjoy the party themselves.

“W-well...since we’re, m-m-might as w-w-well p-put on my d-d-dance shoes on,” Jimmy said as he started walking over to where there were a few people dancing to the music.

“I guess I’ll go follow Clyde and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid while we’re here,” Token said. Token then left.

“Ah…” Tweek wanted to stop one of them from leaving, but it was too late, now he was standing there with Craig, who was giving him a death glare at the back of his head. “...If you have something to say...just say it.”

“...Okay,” Craig said, “...you’re a fucking idiot.”

“H-how was I supposed to know that someone would listen in to our conversation and then invite us to an actual drinking party!?” Tweek said.

“Well I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter since your little lie backfired and now we’re here,” Craig said.

“Okay...sure...this isn’t what I wanted to happen...but...it’s not all bad. So far...it’s not as crazy as I thought it would be,” Tweek said.

“Did you forget the guy saying there might be a second wind of craziness coming?” Craig asked.

“Well it can’t be that bad,” Tweek said.

“Really? The people passed out, someone looked stoned as fuck, and the obvious dry humping from a few guys over there isn’t the aftermath of the first wind?” Craig said.

“....Yes?”

“You’re unbelievable,” Craig sighed, “why would you even lie about being in a party like this? Now the guys are going to ask you everything you ‘know’ about these types of parties, and when you give them the wrong information, they’re going to get hurt.”

“I know,” Tweek sighed, “but look...maybe if we work together, we can gather the guys and get out of here before that second wind comes around. What do you say?”

“Why should I help you when you’re the one who got us into this mess?” Craig asked.

“Hey, if you hate this so much, why did you even come with us then, hm? You had every opportunity to leave you know,” Tweek said.

“I would have left, but I didn’t want to leave the guys in your lying hands,” Craig said.

“Exactly, so if you don’t want the guys to get hurt, then it’s better we stop bickering and just work together this once and get everyone out of here before anything happens, okay?”

“...Fine,” Craig sighed, “I’m only doing this because I don’t want Clyde to end up doing something stupid that would get him and possibly Token hurt.”

“Yeah yeah, just go over to where Token and Clyde are, and I’ll try to get Jimmy,” Tweek said.

“Okay,” Craig said as he left.

Tweek quickly rushed over to where Jimmy is, only to see him being surrounded by a crowd as he moved around. Since Jimmy couldn’t move too much, he did what he was able to do, and still had fun dancing his way, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

“W-w-watch me d-d-do a Michael Jackson!” Jimmy said as he tried his best to impersonate one of Michael Jackson’s popular dance movies. “Yeeeeeheee!”

“Nice moves, dude!” The crowd cheered as they dance with Jimmy.

Tweek quickly moved past the crowd and reached Jimmy, with a smile, he tried to convince Jimmy to leave. “Hey, Jimmy. You seem to be having tons of fun.”

“Y-yep! I fffffeeeeeelll a-alive!” Jimmy grinned.

“That’s great...but..maybe it’s time for us to leave. After all, we’re all still underage for this type of party, and we don’t want to get in trouble now, do we?”

“Leave!? W-why? It’s n-not like we’re d-d-doing anything w-w-wrong,” Jimmy said, “I’m j-j-just dancing here, Tweek.”

“I know...I know...but...we should still leave...since...this isn’t safe for us,” Tweek said.

“I-I’m not worried, I have y-y-you as an e-expert here! You’re e-e-experienced with this t-t-type of stuff, r-right?”

Tweek went pale, “yeah..but-”

“R-relax, Tweek! If y-you can have f-f-fun at parties like this, t-t-then so c-c-can I! Now w-watch m-me bust a m-move!” Jimmy exclaimed as he started waving his crutches around while doing the moonwalk.

“Jimmy!” Before Tweek could stop him, the crowd pushed Tweek away as they started joining Jimmy. Tweek ended up being pushed farther away from Jimmy, and it doesn’t seem like Jimmy was going to listen to him at that point. “God damn it,” Tweek muttered. When Tweek turned back, he saw that Craig was coming towards him, but there was no Clyde or Token with him. “You couldn’t convince them to leave either?” Tweek asked.

“Nope, Clyde is stuffing his face with snacks, and a few college girls were talking to Token, and Token being the nice gentleman he is is having a hard time not being a flustered mess,” Craig sighed, “any luck with Jimmy?”

Tweek sighed, “no...he’s really into showing his dancing moves,” Tweek said.

“Tch, guess you couldn’t lie to Jimmy to come with you, huh?”

“Oh fuck off,” Tweek huffed, “I just can’t think of anything right now. So just give me a minute, and I’m sure I can come up with something to convince the guys to leave with us.”

“So...more lies then? Is that the only answer you can think of? Lying to people?” Craig sighed.

Tweek was now tired of Craig’s attitude towards him, and with the stress of being at this party, his anxiety, and more, he couldn’t hold in his anger anymore. It was a good thing the music was loud and everyone was preoccupied with their own things, otherwise they’d be shocked to see Tweek Tweak getting furious. “What the fuck is your problem with me, huh!?”

“I already told you what my problem with you is,” Craig said.

“Okay, I get it. You hate liars, but no need to be such a persistent prick about it! Besides! People lie all the time, and most of those lies are to save the person’s feelings sometimes! Like...you wouldn’t straight up say that a person’s cooking was horrible, especially when you know that person worked so hard to make something! So you just...lie a little, help boost their confidence, and sooner or later they’ll get better!” Tweek said.

“Not really since they’ll just think what they’re doing right now is okay and not realize the mistake! Sure, you shouldn’t be brutally honest, but honest enough to give some sort of criticism! That’s the only way for anyone to improve in life,” Craig said, he then realized something, “wait..why are we fucking talking about someone cooking!? That’s not even the point here!”

“It was supposed to be an example! To help prove my point!” Tweek said.

“Yeah? Well...I just disproved your point,” Craig said.

Tweek frowned, “well okay...maybe that isn’t a good example, but there are a lot of reasons why people lie, and it’s not always bad,” Tweek said.

“Sure...sure...not all lies are bad...but in your case, your lies are far from being good,” Craig said.

“W-what is that supposed to mean?” Tweek asked.

“Don’t you fucking get it? Your lies are manipulating people’s feelings towards you, isn’t that a bit scummy on your end?”

“I-it’s not like I’m making people feel how they feel about me! I simply...stretch the truth about myself...that’s all,” Tweek said.

“Bullshit,” Craig said.

Tweek frowned, “okay! I lied about who I am, but...but...what else am I supposed to do!? I’ve lied since I was a kid, and I kept lying since then! I’ve already gone too deep, I can’t just come out with the truth and reveal who I really am!”

“Why not?” Craig asked.

“Because...because...everyone will just...hate me...if I told them the truth. They’ll never trust me again...and...I’ll be alone,” Tweek said.

“....” Craig sighed, “well even if that does happen, it’s better to come out with the truth and not have this immense guilt that you probably harbor,” Craig said.

“Easy for you to say,” Tweek said, “the one time I did thought about telling someone the truth, I chickened out because...I’ve already convince the whole town that I was this perfect person, and if I came out that it was a lie, that would mean the whole town would hate me! That could ruin my social life, my parents business...I might even have to move out of town just to start over! I can’t do that...especially not when people think so highly of me,” Tweek said.

“No, they think so highly of the fake you,” Craig said, “instead of thinking that everyone will hate you, there might actually be people that might be more forgiving,” Craig said.

“Yeah right...everyone will hate me once they realize that the cool, smart, and charming guy they all knew is actually a kid with social anxiety and never done anything fun or cool in their life,” Tweek said.

“I’m sure there are people that would accept you for who you are. I mean...what about the guys? Sure, it might shock them that you’ve lied to them, but if you gave them time, they might come around,” Craig said.

“You don’t know that...they’ll just hate me and leave as well. Face it...if I told the truth...everyone...will want me dead...and you know what? Maybe I’m better off dead or disappear from everyone’s lives,” Tweek said.

“...You know..it’s stuff like that that makes me kinda understand why you lied...but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to do so. You can’t just let your anxiety be an excuse for your actions, and you especially can’t go around not trusting that there are good enough people that will stay by your side if you were more honest with them,” Craig said, “like seriously...do you honestly think everyone in this town is your friend? From how I see it...most of your so-called friends only look up to you in hopes of gaining favors from you. I mean seriously, there is so many people that keep coming up to you in hopes you’d help them with their homework. Doesn’t that even bother you?”

“...M-maybe a little?” Tweek muttered, but he quickly shook his head, “b-but...they rely on me! It’s better that people rely on you, right?”

“That’s not relying on you, that’s using you. Those guys obviously don’t care about you, they don’t care about your fake self or even your real self, so it doesn’t matter that you lied to them since they obviously aren’t your real friends, and will only use you if they think you’re useful to them.”

“Y-you don’t know that,” Tweek said.

“I know plenty, Tweek. I know the different types of people in the world, and I can see who is being an asshole, and who is actually genuine. People like Clyde, Token, and Jimmy are actually genuine, unlike everyone else that comes to you for homework answers,” Craig said.

“Ha! You may know who is lying, but that doesn’t mean you know everything about people! Even genuine looking people can turn out to be jerks in the end! It’s a dog eat dog world, Craig! And...that’s why I gotta lie if I wanna live a good life!”

“So living a lie is what you consider to be a good life to you? Always living up to people’s expectations of you? Always having to keep up with every lie you made?”

“At least it’s better than the real me! If you were in my shoes, y-you’d do the same,” Tweek said.

“If I were in your shoes...I would believe that my real self can be liked by good people, and I would have tried harder in life instead of taking the so-called easy way,” Craig said. “Honestly...I wonder why you even bother hanging out with people like Clyde, Token, and Jimmy, when...you’re just a bad friend to them.”

“B-bad friend? How am I a bad-” As Tweek took a step forward, he didn’t notice the empty beer bottle by his foot and tripped, however, before Tweek hit the ground, Craig quickly swooped in and caught Tweek before he could hit the ground. “....”

Craig stared at him with a blank expression as he helped Tweek get back on his feet, “the reason I consider you a bad friend is because...you couldn’t even be honest with even the people that are closest to you. Your lack of trust with the guys proves that you deserve to be alone.”

“....” Tweek quickly pushed Craig away now that he was okay and took a step back, “...whatever!” Tweek turned around, “I’m gonna try to convince the guys to leave again. I don’t want to argue with you anymore.”

“....Life isn’t easy, Tweek. It’s not supposed to be easy. So no matter how much you lie...it’s not going to help you, it’ll only hurt people in the end.”

“...No if they don’t know the truth,” Tweek said.

“Maybe...but the one person it’ll always hurt and already knows the truth is yourself,” Craig said.

“....” Tweek stared at him, unable to say anything, “...fuck you.” Tweek then stomped away, not wanting to deal with Craig for much longer.

As Tweek was walking off to find the guys, his mind couldn’t help but think about everything that Craig said. Tweek frowned, thinking that Craig was just being too much of a prude, that he was overthinking things, that he was...he was….

That he was technically right.

As Tweek thought about it, most of what Craig said was true. Everyone who he thought was relying on him did feel as if they were only using him for his supposed smarts. Not only that, but whenever Tweek had to keep up with his lies, he didn't feel happy at all, more like he was stressed all the time. So much for living an easy life if he’s constantly having to keep up with his lies.

“....Ugh...whatever! Not like I can do anything about it,” Tweek said.

As Tweek saw Clyde and Token in the distance, he was about to walk over and talk to them, but was suddenly stopped when one of the college students from earlier came by and stopped him. “Hey Tweek! There you are! Been looking for you!”

“M-me? W-why?” Tweek asked.

“Well I remember you saying you never drank before, even though you’ve been to parties like this before, right?”

“Um..y-yes?” Tweek said.

“Well...the guys and I thought it would be super fun if we had you drinking something today.

“W-what!? Why!?” Tweek exclaimed.

“Oh come on, cut the act already. No need to act like a goody two-shoes with us, man!”

“W-what are you talking about?” Tweek asked.

“Dude, you don’t expect us to believe that you’re a saint all the time, right? No one can be that perfect, man, so when I heard you said you went to a party before, but never drank, I had a feeling you lied.”

Tweek’s eyes widened, “y-you knew I...lied?” Tweek asked.

“Of course! There’s no way you never drank anything while partying, it’s like...partying 101, man! So you must have lied about never drinking before, right?”

“....Um...well...I…” Tweek wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t think his lie would backfire even more on him. This was starting to get out of control.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” Token soon arrived with Clyde in tow, who had his cheeks stuffed with junk food.

“Just letting your pal here have a drink, wanna join?”

“What!? Tweek shouldn’t be drinking!” Token exclaimed, “he’s underage!”

“Oh relax, he said he’s been to a party before, which meant he drank before, right Tweek?”

“Um…”

“Hey, he said that he never drank before, so why would Tweek lie about that?” Token asked.

Clyde then swallowed the food he was eating and added in his own comment, “yeah, if Tweek says he never drank, then he never drank, and you shouldn’t be making him drink when he never drank before,” Clyde said.

“You guys need to stop being such prudes and relax! It’s a party after all!”

Jimmy soon arrived after hearing everything that was said, “w-w-well I d-don’t think a party i-is fffffun anymore if y-you’re just m-making s-s-someone uncomfortable,” Jimmy said.

“Tch, hey Tweek, why don’t you take a sip of this beer here and prove to your friends here that it’s all good, hm?”

“Well...I...I don’t know...this doesn’t seem like a good idea,” Tweek said, feeling his anxiety spiking.

“Come on, you’re cool, right? Just prove to these losers that you can handle something as simple as beer.”

“....” Tweek gulped as a bottle was shoved into his hands and now everyone was staring at him.

“Tweek, you don’t have to do it! Just put the bottle down and let’s just leave. This party isn’t really fun anymore,” Token said.

“Yeah man, let’s just go!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Come on, Tweek. Don’t be a loser like them.”

“Yeah Tweek, drink! Drink!”

“Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!” Everyone but Clyde, Token, and Jimmy were now chanting for Tweek to drink, and the pressure was getting to Tweek. He didn’t want to drink anything at all, and wanted to leave, but with so many people pressuring him to drink and the fact that he didn’t want to be seen as uncool was too much for him.

“Tweek, let’s go! You don’t have to prove anything!”

“Yeah man, let’s just go home!”

“Tweek! C-come on!”

“Don’t listen to them, Tweek! You know what parties are like, right? This is nothing compared to something more crazy!”

Tweek stared at the crowd before staring at his friends, they all looked worried for him. Tweek then realized that out of everyone here, only his friends were actually giving a damn about his well-being, unlike the people at this party who were pressuring him to drink.

Craig was right, out of everyone here, only the guys actually gave a damn about him, even though he has lied to them many times.

“...I...I don’t think I should be drinking this,” Tweek said.

The smile on the college student dropped, “why not?”

“....I just...think this is a bad idea. I’m still underage after all,” Tweek said.

“Who cares? I mean...there’s literally countries where the drinking age is way lower, you know.”

“Still...I don’t think I should be drinking this,” Tweek said.

“Come on, Tweek. You’re being so uncool right now.”

“I’m sorry, but...I really can’t drink this,” Tweek said.

“Well why not?”

“Because...because….I-”

“Because I wanted to drink it,” suddenly, Craig showed up and grabbed the bottle from Tweek’s hands. Within seconds, Craig began to drink the beer.

“Dude!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Craig! What are you doing!?” Token exclaimed.

C...Craig?” Tweek’s eyes widened.

Craig then took the bottle away from his lips and made a swallowing sound. He looked at everyone and gave a simple shrug.

“...Woah...I didn’t think you’d actually do that, Tucker. I heard from my little brother that you were nothing but a prude at school, but...you’re surprisingly cool.”

“And very cute!” One of the girls exclaimed.

“Well Tucker, if you ever want to party with us, you are so invited.” Craig nodded, gave a smile before he suddenly gestured for the guy to come closer. “Huh? Need to say something?” The guy then leaned closer, but suddenly, Craig sprayed the guy with the beer he had in his mouth. “Gah! What the fuck! It’s in my eyes!”

“Run!” Craig exclaimed as he grabbed Tweek’s arm, and he and the group began to get out of there as the college student fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Tweek and the gang managed to get out of there without anyone following them, so once they were safe back in town, they stopped running to catch their breaths.

“Oh man...that was crazy! I thought you actually drank it!” Clyde exclaimed.

“Yeah well...I don’t see what the big deal was...that stuff was disgusting,” Craig sighed as he stuck out his tongue in disgust.

“Still...you really saved Tweek back there, man. Who knows what would have happened if you didn’t step up back there,” Token said.

“Y-yeah...you really...saved me,” Tweek said.

Craig shrugged, “well I wanted to leave, and you guys looked like you wanted to leave too, so...I just did what I could to get us out of there. Though if something like this ever happens again, I’m leaving the drinking and spitting to someone else. Whatever beer they brought was just disgusting,” Craig sighed.

“W-well I don’t k-know about you, b-but that’s enough p-p-partying for one day,” Jimmy said.

“Wanna go to my house and play some video games?”

“I guess since it’s still bright out,” Token said.

“S-sounds g-good,” Jimmy said.

“Nah...I’m exhausted and would like to go home,” Craig sighed.

“Okay, what about you, Tweek?”

“I...I want to go home too, so...maybe another time?” Tweek asked.

“Alright, well I guess we’ll see you two later! And Craig, if you start feeling dizzy, you might want to go to the hospital. Who knows if you accidentally got any of that alcohol in your system,” Clyde said.

“Will do,” Craig said.

With that, the three soon left, leaving Craig and Tweek alone. Tweek stayed silent for a bit, staring at Craig and wondering why he saved him back there.

“Well...I better get going,” Craig said as he started to leave.

“W-wait!” Tweek grabbed Craig’s arm, “why did you help me back there?”

“I didn’t help you, I just wanted us to get out of there,” Craig said.

“Well you could have easily taken the others with you and left me,” Tweek said.

“....” Craig sighed, “I couldn’t do that,” Craig said, “the guys wouldn’t leave you behind, since...you know...they care about you? Besides...it would be a dick move on my part if I left you behind.”

“....” Tweek sighed, “I’m sorry...you were right. You were right about everything,” Tweek said.

“....Well...glad you realized what you did wrong,” Craig said.

“Ugh...yeah...yeah…” Tweek sighed, “god...you must really hate me, don’t you?”

“....I don’t...hate you. I just hate that you’ve been lying to so many innocent people, especially to our friends,” Craig said.

“I know, but...even if I did tell the truth...I’m worried that everyone, especially Clyde, Token, and Jimmy would just...leave me...and...I don’t want to be alone,” Tweek said.

“Which is why you gotta trust that they won’t leave you. It might take them time to forgive you, but if they care enough...then they won’t leave you,” Craig said.

“.....” Tweek stared at the ground and let out a sigh, “god...what have I been doing? Ugh...I feel so...stupid.”

“It’s...not entirely your fault. Sometimes our fears make us do stupid things,” Craig said as he crossed his arms, “and I guess your fear of being alone made you do something really stupid.”

“....Ha...yeah,” Tweek sighed as he looked down.

“....Don’t be too hard on yourself, we all made mistakes before,” Craig said.

“....Why...why are you suddenly being nice to me?” Tweek asked.

“Because...I can somewhat understand why you had to lie, your fears, and anxiety and stuff. Though I still don’t think lying should ever be the answer to anything...if there’s hope for you to turn things around, then...you might not be all bad,” Craig said, “hell...you’re actually pretty nice...even if you are a liar.”

“...You think I’m nice?” Tweek asked.

“Yeah, really nice, and even a bit cute sometimes,” Craig said. Craig froze.

Tweek’s eyes widened, “you...think I’m cute?”

Craig cleared his throat and turned his head, to hide his face, “I mean...sure...yeah...but that doesn’t mean anything, really. I mean, I did kinda think you were cute when we first met, b-but that also doesn’t mean anything, so...don’t get any wrong ideas here,” Craig said, “ugh...this is awkward.”

Tweek stared at him before chuckling, “it’s okay...I think you’re cute too,” Tweek said, his cheeks getting red.

“....Ugh...look...I’ll...start going easy on you and stop being a dick, okay? But you have to promise me that you stop the lying, and try to be honest with people,” Craig said.

“....I’ll try...though...it’ll be hard,” Tweek said.

“Well...why not start with the guys? I’m sure they’ll be more understanding, trust me,” Craig smiled.

“....” Tweek’s heart skipped a beat when he saw that familiar smile from when Tweek first met Craig. Suddenly, he felt warm inside, and started feeling nervous, though he wasn’t sure why. Maybe he still couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Craig considered him cute, or maybe it was...something else? “Yeah...I’ll trust you,” Tweek said, “and maybe...I should try trusting the others more too.”

“That’s a start,” Craig said as he patted Tweek on the shoulder. The feeling of Tweek’s hand on his shoulder made Tweek flinch, but he didn’t particularly hate it. “Well...I’m heading home. I had enough interaction with people for one day, thank you very much.”

“Same here,” Tweek said, “but um...I guess...I’ll see you on Monday...if...you know...you wanna start talking?”

“....Sure...I wouldn’t mind,” Craig said.

Tweek smiled, “then...see you around.”

“See you,” Craig said. Craig then left.

“....” Once Craig left, Tweek’s heart was pounding like crazy, and his cheeks turned red. Even though Craig has been a jerk to him for a long time, just seeing Craig be more civil with him and actually acting nice has made Tweek feel all flustered for some reason. “...Damn him and his good looks,” Tweek muttered.

Still, Tweek couldn’t stop the pitter patter of his heart, and even as he started heading home, he couldn’t stop thinking about Craig and his kind words.

* * *

It was Monday, and the school was busy because of the club fair. So during the break, everyone was busy checking out all the available club and sports team that were around, and it seemed that most of the clubs were doing well, all except for one.

“Ugh...I told you we should have put more signs around the school!”

“Sorry Red, but it was hard to find any available space since most of the other clubs took up most of the good spots where people could see our signs.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Kevin. I actually saw the chess club covering one of our signs with theirs,” Craig said.

“What!? Those sons of bitches! I should go over there and shove their those chess pieces right up their-”

“Um...excuse me!” The three froze and looked up, they were all surprised when they saw Tweek standing by the door.

“Tweek?” Craig muttered.

“Hi Tweek! What are you doing here?” Red asked, confused as to why someone like Tweek was at their clubroom.

“Oh, well um...I was walking around, saw your club...and um...I’m actually quite interested in joining the astronomy club,” Tweek smiled.

“You are!?” Red exclaimed.

“You...are?” Craig looked at him suspiciously, but no matter how closely he looked at Tweek’s face, he didn’t find a hint of a lie from him.

“Well welcome to the astronomy club, Tweek! Here, we will learn about everything there is about stars, the planet, the entire solar system and universe! We also try to see if we can find out if aliens exist, and enjoy a bit of movie night by watching every season and every movie adaptation of the greatest sci-fi franchise there is, Star Trek!”

“Along with Star Wars since it’s also a great sci-fi franchise as well,” Red said.

“Yes, that too, but mostly Star Trek,” Kevin said.

“Sounds great,” Tweek chuckled, “where do I sign to join?” Tweek asked.

“Right here my good man!” Kevin said as he pulled out the sign up sheet.

“Hold it...I would like to talk to Tweek before we do anything,” Craig said.

“Um...what are you doing, Craig? We need a fourth member, and it’s Tweek for crying out loud! With him around, we’ll get more members because of him,” Red said.

“I get it, but I would still want to make sure that this isn’t a lie or something,” Craig said.

“Now why would Tweek lie about joining our club?” Kevin asked.

“That’s what I want to know,” Craig said as he narrowed his eyes at Tweek. He walked over to Tweek, “can I talk to you in the hallway?” Craig asked.

Tweek smiled, “of course,” Tweek said.

Craig then pushed Tweek out of the door and closed the door behind them as to not let the other two members listen in on their conversation. “Alright...what do you want?” Craig asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that,” Craig sighed, “I thought we made a deal last Friday that I’d go easy on you from now on, but that you also promised to stop making more lies. So why are you really here?” Craig asked.

“Can’t a guy just be interested in astronomy?” Tweek asked.

“Don’t give me that, we both know that you’re the type who’d rather go home after school,” Craig sighed, “so please...for once...be honest with me and explain to me why you’re here.”

“....” Tweek stared at Craig and suddenly felt embarrassed. 

During the weekend, Tweek thought long and hard about how he felt about Craig. On one hand, he thought he hated him, on the other, he thought he was scared of him, and then he thought he was interested in him. Soon, Tweek realized that he actually had a crush on Craig, not because of how Craig treated him whenever he lied, but for all the times Craig was actually a good guy, was nice to him, and the fact that whenever Craig called out on someone lying, he does it because he knew just how much a lie could harm someone, and Craig was simply helping a person...albeit...a bit too straightforward and stuck up.

It was a real shock for Tweek to realize these feelings he had for someone he thought he hated, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that he didn’t hate Craig, but actually admired him in some ways. “...I like you,” Tweek said.

Craig froze and took a step back. He stared at Tweek for a bit, wondering if that was true or not, but when he saw that Tweek was being honest, Craig was surprised.

“....Jesus Christ…” Craig muttered.

Tweek blushed harder, “I know it’s hard to believe…”

“Yeah...no kidding,” Craig said, “I can’t believe...you gotten so good at lying that you actually managed to hide it from me!”

“....Eh?” Tweek stared at him in confusion, “that’s not-”

“No need to go that far to lie to me, if the real reason is too embarrassing or whatever, just say so, I won’t push you for the real answer,” Craig sighed.

“N-no, that was the truth! I really do like you!” Tweek began to panicked.

“Stop it already, there’s no way you like me,” Craig sighed, “look, if you want to join, I won’t stop you, but please...don’t lie to me, especially when lying about that. It’s not cool to play with someone’s feelings you know,” Craig said.

“B-but I’m not lying this time!” Tweek exclaimed.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Craig sighed, “well...if you’re serious about joining the club, then I won’t stop you, but I do hope you’ll take it seriously,” Craig said as he began to head back inside.

“B-but I-” Craig already went inside, “...I really...wasn’t...lying this time…” Tweek muttered. Despite Tweek telling the truth, things didn’t go exactly as he planned. It seemed it was going to take awhile for Craig to fully trust him enough to know that his feelings for him were one hundred percent genuine. “Ugh...god damn it,” Tweek sighed.

Back with Craig, he was back in the club room and started walking back to the others.

“Hey, you done talking to Tweek?”

“Yeah,” Craig said, “oh, and he’s serious about joining, so might as well put his name on the sign up sheet,” Craig said.

“Yes! That means our club is saved, and we get to do the club activities this year!” Kevin grinned.

“...Hey...you alright, Craig? Your face is...kinda red right now,” Red said.

Craig stared at them, his face entirely red, even his ears were red. “Sh-shut up,” Craig stuttered and turned his head away. Never in Craig’s life did he feel so embarrassed and nervous at that moment. “...God damn it,” Craig muttered as he wished he could just disappear at that moment.


End file.
